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Writer's pictureChris Hall Murphy

May Sew Along: The Gemella Wallet (Week 3)

May Sew Along - The Gemella Wallet - Week Three

Happy Memorial Day! I hope you're all enjoying the long weekend with your families and friends, whether you're grilling out or just hanging out. It's a rainy day here in Georgia — great weather to stay indoors and do some sewing! Not only is it the unofficial beginning of summer, but it's also the final week of our Gemella Sew Along.


Before we get started, I'd like to thank you for joining me over the past few weeks. I have really enjoyed making the Gemella alongside you all, and I would love to get your feedback about the format of the Sew Along. Do you find these weekly blog posts helpful? What about the livestreams? What ideas do you have for future Sew Alongs? I want the Sew Alongs to be a fun community experience, and your feedback will help us continue to improve!


Recorded Q&A + Upcoming Livestream on May 29

As a reminder, I have been doing weekly livestreams to talk about the Sew Along and answer any questions you may have. If you missed last week's stream, you can watch the recording here: Gemella Wallet Q&A — Sew Along Livestream.


The final livestream of the Sew Along will be Wednesday, May 29 at 7 p.m. EDT. To get notified when the live starts, click the bell on YouTube. I hope to see you there!




Completing the Gemella Wallet

Last week, we created our flap, snap tab, credit card slots and ID window. Everything is really starting to come together! This week, we will bring the Sew Along to a close and finish constructing our wallets. By the end of these final steps, you will have a totally unique wallet that you created yourself.


This week, we will need:

  • The Gemella Wallet pattern

  • Completed Main Body 1 from last week

  • Remaining pieces we cut in week 1

  • #3 zippers and pulls

  • Wonder Clips

  • Scissors

  • Double-sided tape

  • Fabric pen

  • Ruler

  • Basecoat and edge paint

  • Hole punch

  • Sewing machine


Here is the full video tutorial for the Gemella Wallet. For each step below, I also include links to jump to the applicable timestamp in the video.



Step 3: Construct the Wallet Exterior


First, let’s construct our second Main Body piece, which is essentially the exterior of the wallet. We’ll start with the zippers: pinching the ends, trimming the zipper tape, adding the zipper pulls, and stitching the zipper tabs in place.

Gemella wallet zipper

Zipper pulls are a great opportunity to add a unique touch to your Gemella. They come in all kinds of shapes, colors, and materials, so you can stick with something classic or get creative.


Then, we’ll move on to the cell phone pocket (timestamp: 1:00:42). We will construct the cell phone pocket, stitch the pocket to the body of the wallet, and add the snap tab (timestamp: 1:15:49). Make sure to leave a little slack in the snap tab for thicker phones.

Gemella Wallet main body piece with cell phone flap

Then we will attach the zippers (timestamp: 1:19:27) and add our lining (timestamp: 1:21:50). As I explain in the video, the pattern has the zippers facing each other, zipping toward the center of the wallet. You can definitely adjust this based on your preferences. I say it every week: a pattern is just a suggestion!


Step 4: Assembly


It’s time to put all the pieces together! There’s not much to say here — just a lot of stitching and a little trimming. Then we’ll apply basecoat and edgecoat, attach our snap, and finish off by attaching the flap.


Tip: To make your Gemella a little extra special, you can use rivets instead of stitching when you attach the flap. I talk about that in the video at 1:38:47.

Your Gemella Wallet is Complete!

Just like that, your Gemella Wallet is finished! In three weeks, you created a unique, high-quality wallet from scratch. Thank you again for sewing along with me this month. I always love to see what you create, so don't forget to share your makes in the Simply Classic Inspiration Group on Facebook.


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